Authentication Bypass Vulnerability in Nutanix Prism Element
CVE-2026-84731

9.3CRITICAL

Key Information:

Vendor

Nutanix

Status
Acropolis Operating System (aos)
Vendor
CVE Published:
15 October 2026

Badges

👾 Exploit Exists

What is CVE-2026-84731?

An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit a misconfiguration in the authentication filters of Nutanix Prism Element. By sending a specially crafted internal management HTTP header, the attacker bypasses the authentication mechanism, gaining unauthorized access to administrative API endpoints. This results in the server generating a Set-Cookie header containing a valid JSESSIONID, which encodes a JSON Web Token (JWT) with full administrative privileges over the cluster. The exploitation of this vulnerability permits the attacker to execute root-level commands on all Controller VMs (CVMs) within the cluster, placing the entire environment at risk of unauthorized access and potential destruction.

Affected Version(s)

Acropolis Operating System (AOS) 0 < 7.3.1.18

Acropolis Operating System (AOS) 7.5 < 7.5.2

Acropolis Operating System (AOS) 7.6 < 7.6.0.8

References

https://download.nutanix.com/alerts/Security_Advisory_005...
vendor-advisory
https://portal.nutanix.com/page/documents/list?type=softw...
release-notes
https://www.nutanix.com/support
x_support

CVSS V4

Score:
9.3
Severity:
CRITICAL
Confidentiality:
High
Integrity:
High
Availability:
High
Attack Vector:
Network
Attack Complexity:
Low
Attack Required:
None
Privileges Required:
Undefined
User Interaction:
None

Timeline

  • 👾

    Exploit known to exist

  • Vulnerability published

  • Vulnerability Reserved

Credit

Brandon McGrath (mez-0)
.